Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2,941 people, this town lies in Nord, Hauts-de-France.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Its schools fall short (D−): brevet results 6 points below the expected rate. It also trails on cost of living (D) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 8.3 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Health outcomes beat most towns: after allowing for care homes, deaths from 2016 to 2025 were 20% below expected, against 12% below for the median of compared French towns. The overall grade comes out at C+, #62 of 189 in Nord. Set against the rest, it does better than 41% of compared French towns.
Figures: deaths, INSEE (by commune of residence, 2016–2025) · brevet and bac results, Ministry of Education · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Willems with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades French towns →
The Culture ministry lists no building in Willems as a monument historique. That’s true of 25% of compared French towns too.
The nearest classé monument is Chapelle Sainte-Thérèse-de-l'Enfant-Jésus et de la Sainte-Face, in Hem, 3.3 mi away.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Willems.
Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
The nearest general lycée is 3.8 mi away. By results, schools here place #185 of 195 in Nord. A collège lies 3.1 mi away.
| School | Level | Candidates | Passed, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Raymond DevosNearest collègeCollège | Collège | 134 | 77%−6 pts |
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Advertised rents are estimated at €13.35/m² a month, higher than both Nord’s towns (€11.81/m²) and compared French towns (€12.41/m²). Houses were 95% of what sold. From July 2023 to June 2026, 94 homes were sold in Willems.
| By type | Median per m² | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | €2,833/m² | 89 |
Source: DGFiP, DVF property sales (Etalab geolocated); Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025; INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Nearly a tenth of the labour force were unemployed, below both Nord’s towns (13.2%) and compared French towns (10.1%). Willems holds 850 jobs; 1,250 of its residents are in work, so 0.7 jobs each. At the census, 5.1% of working residents in Willems went to work by public transport.
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
Women in Nord live to 84.5 on average and men to 78.8 (2025), against 85.9 and 80.3 across France. France’s death rates at each age would predict 217 deaths in Willems from 2016 to 2025; there were 173, 20% fewer. Also worth knowing: 5 GPs practise locally.
Source: INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025; DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 · Licence Ouverte · TownRatings makes the care-home adjustment itself; it is a model, not an official statistic. A less sure grade: it could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Police and gendarmerie figures for Willems show 46 offenses in 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, there were 6.2 cases of violence against people and 12.5 graded property crimes (2023–2025 average). More of the graded crimes locally were criminal damage than anything else (2025).
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · Small counts of other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary and theft from vehicles go unpublished (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the département’s average stands in, 14.8% of the index here. Because that share is over 10%, this Safety Grade is less sure than most. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
One measure of family life: nearly a fifth of residents are under 15. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town. Half the people of Willems are older than 42.8.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Nord 51.9%, France 51.8%.
| Willems | Nord median | France median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 24% | 23% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 22% |
| No diploma | 21% | 23% | 19% |
| CAP or BEP | 19% | 26% | 26% |
| Baccalauréat | 15% | 18% | 18% |
| Higher education | 39% | 26% | 30% |
INSEE, census 2023 · Nord median and France median: the median of compared communes
Museums and heritage in and near Willems. Best known first.
MuseumMusée de plein air de Villeneuve-d'Ascq4.1 km west, in Villeneuve-d'AscqMonastery or conventMonastery or conventAncien carmel d'Ascq4.9 km west, in Villeneuve-d'AscqChâteauChâteauChâteau de Montreul3.4 km southwest, in ChérengMuseumMuseumMaison du Patrimoine et d’Histoire Locale4.4 km northwest, in HemPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence (our copy, resized).
Nothing in Willems is on the monuments historiques list. These are the nearest classé monuments, within 15.5 mi.
Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Willems yet.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willems | 2,941 | — | C+ | D | B | B+ |
| Baisieux | 5,545 | 1.1 | A− | D | A− | B− |
| Chéreng | 3,078 | 1.8 | A | D | A | A− |
| Toufflers | 3,957 | 2.1 | C− | C− | B− | C |
| Camphin-en-Pévèle | 2,518 | 2.7 | — | C− | — | B+ |
| Hem | 18,582 | 3 | C | D | C | B+ |
| Lys-lez-Lannoy | 14,050 | 3.1 | D | C− | C− | C |
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
It grades B for safety, #46 of 189 in Nord.
They grade D−, better than 5% of compared French towns and #185 of 195 in Nord. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Willems grades D for cost of living.
Commune in Nord, Hauts-de-France
Willems is a commune of 2,941 people in the Métropole Européenne de Lille. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, employment, commuting) · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (income per consumption unit, poverty) · DGFiP, DVF property sales, July 2023 to June 2026 · Housing Ministry, Carte des loyers 2025 · SSMSI, recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Ministry of Education (DEPP), brevet and bac results and value-added indicators, 2025 · INSEE, deaths by commune of residence 2016–2025 and censuses 2012–2023; Eurostat, death rates by age (© European Union); INSEE, BPE 2025 (care homes, emergency and maternity units, GPs, pharmacies); DREES, APL 2024; INSEE, life expectancy by département 2025 (provisional) · INSEE, BPE 2025 and Filosofi 200 m grid (walking distances) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated October 30, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.